Two Love Island stars and a former professional ballroom dancer turned television presenter put on a show for care home residents as part of World Alzheimer’s Day.

Ellie Jones and Savanna Darnell, who appeared in this summer’s dating reality show were joined by US TV’s Dancing with the Stars presenter Gary Edwards at Sunrise Senior Living in Elstree last Thursday for an afternoon of Latin and ballroom dancing.

In an effort to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease which affects 50 million people worldwide and 850,000 in the UK, the trio alongside the Arthur Murray Dance troop led by Shaun McEnery entertained residents before inviting them to join in the fun too.

For Ellie, the charity is close to her heart.

She said: "I’m so glad I came today. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s and the years later my grandad had a form of dementia, so I know how horrible the condition is."

Meanwhile for Savanna, who is a dancer, it was an opportunity to show the benefits dance can bring to people living with Alzheimer’s.

She said: “It was so heart-warming and touching to be here today. Everyone really wanted to get involved and it was so lovely to see the smiles on their face.

“I am running my own dance workshops to teach people everything I know as a trained dancer and get them on their feet. Seeing how happy everyone was here today has made me really excited to spread the love.”

And for Gary, who can boast that he once taught Michael Jackson the cha-cha-cha, the experience was a chance to offer some impromptu instruction while he was also able to reprise his dancing lessons with Ellie, who he coached earlier this year.

He said: “It was humbling to see the faces of the residents light up when they engaged in the dance and the level empathy and engagement that Ellie and Savanna had for those living with dementia. It’s forgivable not to be so connected to the hard issues like Alzheimer’s when you’re so young, so you can imagine I was thrilled to see them not only dance with the residents but be so passionate about raising awareness for the cause.

“I am so glad that we live in a world where we can talk more openly about mental illness which is what my #GetBritainDancing campaign is all about.”